


Strict Schedule

by mggislife2789



Category: Criminal Minds, Spencer Reid - Fandom
Genre: Cataplexy, F/M, Narcolepsy, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-29 02:18:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11431110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mggislife2789/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)





	Strict Schedule

On a rare day off, Spencer found himself sitting at the cafe just down the street from his apartment with a book in hand, well, five books, but whatever, he needed something to read. There weren’t that many people around today, so he got caught off-guard when a loud, but sweet-sounding laugh resounded throughout the small space.

When he looked up, he saw a woman talking with her friend. She was wearing a pair of light wash ripped jeans, a pair of purple converse (which he happened to also be wearing) and a plain gray t-shirt - completely comfortable and yet effortlessly beautiful. After a short laughing fit, he noticed her left arm rest limply at her side. A yawn overtook her and the friend she was speaking to put her arm around her and bring her to a table. Within a minute, the woman was asleep, and remained that way for about two minutes, only to wake up slightly confused but otherwise okay. 

Apparently, her friend had to leave shortly after; her scrubs indicating she most likely worked at the local hospital. “I’m fine.” He heard her say. “I’ve got this under control.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yea, Shay,” she said, as she pulled out her laptop. “I’m just going to do a little bit of work here and then walk home. I’ll be fine. Talk to you later?”

“Of course, babe!”

Spencer hadn’t planned on going anywhere anyway, he really did want to relax and read, but after seeing what happened, he was afraid to leave her alone. If he was right, the limp limb was cataplexy, followed by a short bout of narcolepsy where she’d fallen asleep on her friends shoulder; it made sense, considering beforehand she’d been laughing. Laughter was one of the most triggers for people with cataplexy. 

A soft smile crossed her face as she put in headphones, extremely loud music blasting out of them. Eventually, Spencer went back to reading his book, so he was caught off-guard when he looked up and she was once again asleep, this time with her head on her laptop. 

He noticed a few younger men were sitting in the corner and laughing, taking pictures and making lewd motions and comments. Spencer definitely couldn’t leave her now. When he was younger, he would’ve killed for someone to stand up for him and protect him, so instead of sitting idly by, he got up from the table and went to sit at her side. Immediately, the boys that were laughing and talking stopped. Spencer smiled as he went back to his book, a warm feeling of pride at having stopped the boys from degrading her any longer.

After about ten minutes, the woman shook her head and pushed up off the laptop. “What happened?”

She undoubtedly knew, but Spencer spoke up anyway. “You fell asleep,” he smiled softly. “There was a group of boys taking pictures and making nasty comments so I sat over here so they might think we were friends or involved and they would stop. It worked. Are you okay?”

“Yea,” she replied, looking down at the laptop and realizing there was a string of letters that weren’t necessary due to her ten-minute nap. She highlighted the passage and got rid of it before turning to him to explain. “I have narcolepsy…with some cataplexy thrown in. Some days are worse than others and apparently today’s not a good day. But…” she swallowed, looking toward the group of young boys that Spencer had pointed out, “Thank you for sitting over here. I do appreciate it.” She shook herself around a bit, trying to wake herself up. “I’m Y/N by the way. Can I ask the name of my knight in shining armor?”

Spencer smiled warmly, his lips scrunching up in satisfaction. He’d never been called that before and he had to admit that he liked it. “Dr. Spencer Reid,” he said, giving her a small wave.

“Medical doctor?”

“No. Three Ph.D.’s though. I work for the FBI as a profiler.”

“That’s so cool!”

It wasn’t necessarily ‘cool,’ but he understood what she meant. “I do love what I do. Is this work?” He pointed to the laptop and she smiled.

“Yea. I’m actually a writer, fiction and non-fiction. Non-fiction has to do with my life as a narcoleptic,” she said, sleep still staining her eyes. “And I take a little work on the side to supplement my income and occasionally speak at conferences on narcolepsy.”

“C-Can I ask what it’s like to have it?” he asked. He knew the physical signs and symptoms, but he was curious as to what it felt like.

“Sure,” she said, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not gonna lie to you, Dr. Reid, it sucks.”

“Spencer, please.”

“It sucks, Spencer. But I get by. I tend to try and not get overly emotional in any way while I’m out, especially laughing, because that’s my biggest trigger. If I’m going to have a big party, I make sure it’s at my place or somewhere I trust everyone, just in case I do randomly fall asleep. The cataplexy tends to be isolated to one limb at a time now thank god, but when I was in college and my schedule was hectic, I could just drop to the floor. My whole body would go limp.”

“Oh my god,” he said. He couldn’t imagine not having control over his own body like that. “How long have you known?”

“Since my second year of college, so a little over a decade at this point,” she said. “When did I get old?” She laughed again, softly this time as if realizing she could fall asleep again and desperately trying to avoid it. “Anyway, I’d always been a tired person, falling asleep in cars and just generally being really tired, but when I dropped down limp in the middle of the field in college, I realized something was wrong. I had a bunch of studies done and I was diagnosed within a few months.”

“How do you manage it now? I know there’s no cure,” he said.

“Unfortunately, not. I have a very strict schedule for sleep. No matter what I do, I make sure I’m in bed by 10 o’clock at night and up by 6. Eight hours of sleep, plus, I try and take three or four 10-15 minute naps during the day. Most of the time, that works. I’m still tired obviously, but it’s the best I can do.”

She started packing up her laptop and yawned again. “Dammit,” she chuckled. “I need to get going, but today is an off day for me and I have to walk home. Would you walk with me?”

“Absolutely,” he said. Maybe a little too quickly. The last thing he wanted was for someone to take advantage of her. “I was going to offer if you didn’t ask.”

“Such a gentleman.” They walked back to her apartment without any sleep attacks. “Thank you again, Spencer. I really do appreciate it. It’s rare I find someone who doesn’t laugh at how randomly I can fall asleep.”

It didn’t look funny to him. It looked like it sucked. “It’s not a problem. I-is there a chance I could get your phone number? I’d like to get to know you…if that’s okay with you.” He hated how clumsy he sounded; he knew he was supposed to sound confident, but for the life of him, he couldn’t force it. 

Reaching for his phone, she took it and programmed her phone number in. “I’d like that a lot.” They smiled at each other momentarily before another yawn overtook her. “I think my body’s telling me I need a nap. See you soon, Spencer.”


End file.
